The narrative is: Canadian guy meets Hiroshima gal, then they have a couple of baby girls. The lighter side of bicultural parenting.

March 27, 2013

March: Sandstorms and Sad Anniversaries

This
month has had its share of happenings. For those of us living in the Land of the
Endless Tremors, March 11 will forever be an important date. Like November 22
for my parents’ generation and September 11 (for everyone in North America), March
11 carries special meaning. At the office, we marked the second anniversary of The
Great East Japan Earthquake and resulting tsunami with a minute of silence for
the victims—a tasteful touch. This day, after all, marks a catastrophe that devastated
the northeast seaboard of Japan, killed 18,000 people, and generated the world’s
foulest nuclear crisis since Chernobyl. I have traveled north several times since
“3-11” as it is called here: even the nonchalant way locals describe their experience
is humbling, and the effects are still being felt. Thus, the one-minute remembrance
had special import for me.

On
a less solemn note, the sandstorms that originate in Mongolia and China hit this
year in early March, coating our car and windows with a fine silt that was, more
than anything else, annoying.
﻿

Tokyo Skytree Tower amid the sandy skies

An annual seasonal weather phenomenon, this year
the China sands hit in mid-May and brought the highest temperatures in recorded
history with them (at one point, almost 26 Celsius)—global warming ahoy! Plus, really
crap visibility and a gritty sensation on any exposed skin. Just a few more things
for locals to bitch about when they talk about China as they don the ubiquitous
Hannibal Lecter masks. (I won’t even touch the island territorial disputes—this is
not a political blog, after all.)

In
closing, an update on Marina’s ongoing vocabulary development. Her favorite words this
month are (translations by the author):

1.
“Unchi” (poo-poo, shit).

Example:
“Hey Daddy, unchi-unchi-unchi.” Then
she laughs at her own “joke.”

2.
“Chin-chin” (penis, dink, junk…and hundreds of other synonyms).

Example:
“Hi. Daddy has a chin-chin (points to
my groin), Marina does not have a chin-chin.”
Then she laughs at her own “joke” again.

3.
"Oshiri" (ass, bum, derriere).

Example:
[After bath time, as she runs out of my reach] “Hey, look at my oshiri, Daddy.” She turns around and wiggles
her bum. I squirm and think: just don’t consider it a future vocational option.